Complicated day for Miguel Oliveira in Jerez. The two practices of the first day of the Spanish GP were tough and, in the afternoon practice that counts to define the qualifiers directly for the second phase of qualifying, he was only 19th.
The Trackhouse Racing Portuguese rider didn’t hide that it was a negative Friday, stating: ‘Today was a disaster, because we couldn’t get the balance of the bike right with the [rear] soft tire. I was only 0.3s faster comparing the medium with the soft. There is definitely a lot to analyze this afternoon. Also after the crash, I went to a bike that had a small problem, which was the same problem as this morning. So, it wasn’t perfect. I didn’t get the best lap, I didn’t get the best out of the bike‘.
In Oliveira’s view, it is possible to do better: ‘There is certainly room for improvement. It was far from ideal, but it is what it is, so we have to deal with it‘.
The #88 admitted that the bike is not making his task easier, having changed the balance despite being identical to the GP of the Americas: ‘It’s simply the bike. Whatever we were using [on the bike] in 2022, we can’t use with this bike. So, we are simply discovering a new thing that we need to go for. Basically, we have the bike from Austin, the same tires from Austin – just a different track – and everything is difficult. The balance has completely changed, so we need to adjust‘.
Maverick Viñales (Aprilia) is once again fighting for the top positions, but Oliveira emphasized that he cannot simply copy the Spanish rider: ‘I wish I could have a copy-paste of the setup, but that’s not how it should work. It is what it is, so we have to understand what we need to do‘.
